Friday, March 26, 2010

Sam tested out of speech therapy today. It means he has improved to the point that he no longer qualifys for services anymore (they will continue to check in every once in a while to make sure he's not reverting). He's on track with every other 3 year old. He is so proud, and I am so relieved. And happy. And proud!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

There are things that I have done as a mother that I thought I would never do. Pregnancy and birth, for starters. As the years have gone on, this mom has worn many different hats. Hats I didn't even know I possessed.Some have been worn out of necessity, others I always thought I'd leave on the heads of professionals. Or other people besides me. Now that I'm all up in the Mad Real World, I have to do some things to save money. You know, for my Wednesday night Star Bar habit. :)

This morning, I rolled into my kitchen to grab some Windex, and came upon a river of water on the floor. After my initial freak out, I cleaned up the mess and discovered the root of the problem: the kitchen faucet. A plumber told us like, 2 years ago that we needed to replace the faucet, but JT and I kept putting it off, saying things like "Aww, you just have to jiggle it a bit" and "It's not too bad, right?" Well, today, there was no denying it needed to be fixed. I'm not real big on paying a plumber 40 bucks an hour to come replace something so simple as a faucet, so I drove my happy ass to Home Depot and bought one.

I am a college educated woman...surely I can fix this, right? YES. I can. And I DID. With only a phone call to my friend Brian to tell me where to shut off the water. Because I am AWESOME.

And then, I cleaned it all up and made dinner. And changed a diaper. And added "plumber" to my hat collection.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

I usually fancy myself a pretty positive person, but today I need to write out the things that have annoyed me all day. Thank you for the free therapy. :)

1. KU losing last weekend--Sure, it seems like small apples to those that aren't Jayhawk fans, but March in Lawrence is a beautiful thing. People come together--strangers, friends, everyone--to watch the Jays win. And then they didn't. Now I have no excuse for carrying my friend Ella on my shoulders down Mass. St. while high fiving strangers. My social calendar for March just cleared up real fast.

3. The children's shoe department at Target. WTF Target stores? Why are there 495 different sandal selections for my baby girl, and 3 for my son? Don't you think boys want to branch out in colors besides brown and blue? Flippin' ridiculous.

4. Puzzles. I love that puzzles are educational. I'm certain Sam knows his numbers, letters, colors, and shapes because of puzzles. I don't love that my children's favorite thing to do is go over to a stack of puzzles, dump them on the floor, and take off. My house is scattered with random puzzle pieces. They hurt when you step on them. They make me yell obscenities, and then I have to put quarters in the cuss jar. Mama no likey.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Monday, March 15, 2010

Today is your first birthday. From the moment you were born, wide eyed and screaming your lungs out, I knew you were going to be different than your brother. You like to be heard. When you enter a room, you want all of the attention on you. You've never met a stranger, and give hugs and kisses to all who you come across. You are a daddy's girl. This will play to your advantage in your later years, I can guarantee. :) You think your brother is the coolest person on the face of the planet. You stare at him with this wide eyed amazement. You are kind, gentle, and forgiving. You are also adventurous, outgoing, and confident in all that you do.

One of your favorite things to do is to climb the stairs we've told you 1000 times to stay off of, and then stand tall and proud with a goofy smile on your face, knowing that you've accomplished something. You love cartoons, and think the TV is a magical box of fun. This sometimes plays to Mommy's advantage. You love jewelry and chap stick, and playing dress up. You also love the puppies. You love laying on them, and feeling (and sometimes tasting) their ears.

You are the sunshine of my life. Your daddy and I love you more than you'll ever know. Happy Birthday, daughter of mine. You will no doubt grow up to be something quite special.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

This past week was totally bananas. I got the plague and was laid up for the better part of two days. I painted Sam's room. We had family in town for 4 days with sweet basketball tickets. I created a large scale model of a slab of bologna for my daughter's birthday cake. We had a birthday/watch KU beat K-State for the 3rd time party. The clocks changed. I managed to keep 2 kids breathing for another week.

I am flippin' exhausted. I will be back tomorrow with something more witty and heartfelt. Today, I lounge around like a sloth.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Spring fever has arrived at my house. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and I am again wielding the powerful combination of spackling compound and putty knife.

I get urges to do things, and then convince myself that they need to be started RIGHT THIS INSTANT. This is how my master bathroom was updated, my bedroom painted, and the 1970's era wall paper scraped from my foyer. There was nothing scheduled about it, I literally just snapped and decided that was THE DAY to do it. John has come home many times to me sledgehammering walls, mudding drywall, and painting. He's gotten really good at complimenting me on my handywork, and asking if I am pregnant again, as these two things go seemingly hand in hand (the answer, by the way, is HELL to the no).

On the agenda this week? Sam's bedroom is being painted. I taped and spackled this morning, sanded this afternoon, and will pick out paint as soon as Sloane wakes from her nap. His room will be painted tomorrow before John gets home. Because I am AWESOME.

Did I mention Sloane's first birthday party is this weekend? Nothing like waiting until the last minute there, Lindsey. But at least I will have another fabulous home improvement project to show off.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Sam is not a big napper anymore, but he does have to have quiet time in his bed every day. I allow him to read books, but that's it. Today, I sat outside his bedroom door and listened to him "read" his books. Here's Sam's version of "Goodnight Moon." I couldn't help but laugh. :)

We've been to the pediatrician's office more this winter than I've been to Target. When I make my schedules for the week, I should just go ahead and start throwing a trip to Dr. R's office in there. 11:30 seems to be our time slot twice a week.

So, if you see my pediatrician driving a big fancy new car, or putting an addition on his house this summer...we probably had a large part in financing it. :)

I am a sort of hip, sort of cool, Midwest-transplanted-to-Vegas stay at home mom, with two really well behaved kids. Okay...mostly behaved kids....*sigh* okay they are bad sometimes...geez, get over yourself. Nobody's perfect.